Vanessa's Story
by DidSomeoneSayDipperPines
Summary: When Vanessa Renee Evergreen moves to Gravity Falls, Oregon, she thinks that her life is ruined. But when she becomes friends with the Pines twins, she discovers the secrets this town is hiding, and finds that she's hiding some herself. Sadly I cannot say that I own Gravity Falls, it belongs to Alex Hirsch. NO PINECEST. NEVER.
1. Welcome to Gravity Falls

Get Sucked Into Gravity Falls:

Vanessa's Story

Chapter 1:

Welcome to Gravity Falls

Tears rolled down my cheek as I stared at the shadowy redwoods. I couldn't believe it. They had said that we would never move. But yet here we were. Driving over 100 miles from our little home in Green Lane, Pennsylvania, all the way to Gravity Falls, Oregon. My chickens clucked with annoyance in the crate strapped into the seat next to me. I sniffed. Just deal with it. You'll find the un-populars. You'll make friends.

"Are we there yet?" I groaned pathetically.

"Yep!" Mom smiled. "Welcome to Gravity Falls!"

I looked out the window. "I hate it."

"But we just got here," Mom stated. "How do you know if you like it or not?"

"I bet there are wolves in the woods." Said Dad. "And snakes." He added.

"I like snakes!" I said in a stupid little kid voice. I rolled my eyes and looked out the window.

"I bet there'll be cute boys!" Mom teased.

"They'll be cute, but not boyfriend cute. Maybe they'll be my friends, but that's it. They'll be just like the boys at my school. Annoying. Inappropriate. Stupid."

I glanced at each of my parents in turn, then looked back out the window.

That's when I saw him. A cute brown haired boy wearing a dark blue vest hammering a sign to one of the redwoods. The sign was an arrow pointing down a dirt road, and it read, "To The Mystery Shack."

I quickly took out a pen and scribbled the words, "Mystery Shack" on the palm of my left hand. After seeing a cute boy there, I'd doubt that I'd forget, but I wasn't taking any chances.

The boy looked up when our car drove by, and, seeing me, smiled.

I smiled back, taking care not to wave so my mom couldn't prove herself right about cute boys.

After the boy was out of sight, I leaned back in my seat and smiled.

Maybe this move wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. The Other Kind of Pines

Chapter 2:

The Other Kind of Pines

I put my hands on my hips, looking at myself in the mirror. I was wearing blue shorts that came down to my knees, a long dark green t-shirt, black and dark purple sneakers, white socks, and my favorite belted tan hat. I whisked my hat off my head and pulled my dirty blonde hair into a pigtail with a red ponytail, carefully leaving my bangs (the ones on the left side of my face) swinging free of the ponytail's grip. I put my hat back on, and twirled around in front of the mirror. Just an awkward twelve-year-old girl with her own sense of style.

Awkward. Strange. Different. Crazy. All words people have used to describe me. Only adults ever call me pretty. That's okay with me. I don't need praise for my looks. I know I have a white birthmark on my forehead that stands out like a sore thumb on my tanned skin. I know I'm weird.

A sigh escaped me as I flopped down on my light green bedspread.

"Vanessa?" Mom's voice echoed up the stairs and into my attic bedroom.

"What?" I groaned, getting up and walking downstairs.

"Why don't you go explore?" she suggested. "We've been here for four days and you haven't gone out once."

I shrugged my shoulders. I had thought about going to meet the boy, but figured that he'd probably be popular and hate me or something.

"There's a pool in town, why don't you go swimming?"

That cheered me up. I love swimming.

"Okay." I grabbed my towel, goggles, and my surprisingly realistic mermaid tail. I changed into my blue camouflage bathing suit and pulled on my neon green cover-up.

"See you soon!" I called as I raced out the door.

I knew exactly where the pool was, I had seen it on the way to the cabin.

When I finally reached the pool, I froze in my tracks. There were three girls hanging out at the snack bar, all of them clad in make-up and jewelry. Definitely popular. I turned and walked away, not wanting someone popular seeing me wearing a fake mermaid tail. Pool equals popular grounds, no new girls allowed. I was starting to get upset about not being able to go swimming, when I remembered the lake. Of course! I mentally slapped myself in the face. I could go swimming in Gravity Falls Lake!

I flicked my tail twice, and shot forward about four feet through the water. My goggles let me see fairly clearly in the murky water, and I loved diving through the freshwater seaweed. As my air started to run out, I swerved upright and leapt out of the water, took in a gulp of air, then splashed back into the lake, almost as gracefully as a dolphin. Almost.

After three more jumps, my energy was running low. I swam back to shore, pulled off the monofin **(What the mermaid tail thing is called.)**, and laid out on my towel.

I was just about to doze off in the afternoon sun when a girl's voice came out of nowhere.

"Who are you?"

I sat up abruptly to see a brunette girl wearing braces and a pink bathing suit. She was staring at me as if I had two heads.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that anyone actually swam here!" I said very quickly. I took a deep breath. "I'll just leave."

I yanked on my cover-up and was reaching for my goggles when the girl spoke up.

"You don't have to leave, you could hang out with us!"

"Us?" I was really confused.

"Yah, me and Dipper!" She pointed to a boy who was standing on the dock and looking into the water uncertainly.

I couldn't believe it! He was the same boy who had smiled at me on my first day in Oregon!

"I guess I could stay." I said, taking my cover-up back off. "So . . . what's your name?"

"Mabel Pines!" she chimed. "And that's my lamb-like brother, Dipper Pines!"

_Lamb-like? _I decided not to ask.

"Dipper is his _nickname, _right?"

"No duh!"

"Okay, just making sure."

"What's your name?" asked Mabel.

She seemed like an okay gal.

"Vanessa Renee Evergreen, water-lover, former 4-H member, and best friend to Buttons Alexander."

"Who's Buttons Alexander?"

"My cockerel." I answered, acting like it was obvious.

"Your what?"

I laughed. "Cockerel means rooster under the age of one year!"

"Oh . . ."

"Hey Mabel!" called her brother. "Are we going swimming or what?"

"Here I come!" screamed Mabel as she ran across the dock and cannonballed into the water, quickly followed by Dipper.

I was a little surprised when Dipper didn't pull off his shirt before diving in. Every other guy I know is pretty much waiting for a chance to take off his shirt, especially in the hot summer or when girls are around.

I waded into the lake, slipped on the fake mermaid tail, pulled on my goggles, and slipped silently below the surface. The two (Who I thought looked like twins) were making so much splashing that it was hard to pinpoint exactly where they were, but I soon popped (unexpectedly) out of the water, right next to Mabel.

"Hi!" I said, before diving under again, flipping my tail above the surface before I disappeared into the mud-clouded lake.

When I came up for air I realized that Dipper and Mabel had swum farther away from me, and they both looked a little nervous.

"You're a mermaid?" Mabel's eyes grew wide. "Do you know Mermando?"

Dipper didn't do anything but glare at me as if I had just threatened his sister.

"You guys think this is real?" I pulled off the monofin and held it up in the air. "It's just plastic and fabric! I bought it online!"

"Sorry." Said Dipper as he and Mabel swam back towards me. "You'll be more suspicious once you've lived here longer."

"What do you mean?"

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other.

"How long have you lived here?" asked Mabel, giving me a questioning look.

"About four days, but this is the first time I've actually come outside." I said, kinda embarrassed.

"Just, tell us when you see something strange." Mabel smiled. "We're the Mystery Twins!"

_Mystery Twins? _Once again I decided not to ask.

For the rest of the day we had a splash war. Mabel and I teamed up against Dipper, and we had maximum power when I slapped my tail on the water, completely soaking him even though he was already very wet.

By the time Dipper gave in, the sun was beginning to set, and I realized that I had to get home for dinner.

"I have to go." I said, pulling on my cover-up and grabbing my towel and tail. I let my goggles hang freely around my neck; it was the easiest way to keep them from getting lost.

"How about you come to the Mystery Shack tomorrow?" asked Mabel. "It's not like we're doing anything."

"Sure!" I replied, excited to see the place where these to worked. Or did they live there? I decided that I'd find out tomorrow.

When I got home I got dressed, ate dinner, and climbed out my bedroom window to a flat space on the roof. I thought about my new friends. I really liked Mabel's crazy awesome personality, but I also liked Dipper's more laid back personality.

After the sun when down and the moon had begun it's slow incline, I crawled back through the window, got a shower, put on my pajamas, and got into bed. I smiled to myself. I was right. I did make friends.


	3. The Strangeness Begins

Chapter 3:

The Strangeness Begins

I walked through the woods, taking in the great view on my way to the Mystery Shack. I never really realized how beautiful this place really was. The larks sang out a sweet chorus of calls, causing the forest to have an almost magical feel. A fox ran across the trail, stopping in the center and waiting patiently for her three kits to follow before they all set off again.

A sharp cry from a nearby bramble thicket stopped me in my tracks. I tentatively stepped towards the sound, nervous, but curious all at once. When I saw what had made the noise, I immediately got down on all fours. A tiny wolf pup was struggling to break free of a bear foot trap. Its whimpers were weak, as if it had been there a while.

"Don't worry little guy." I took a few steps closer, still staying on all fours. The wolf pup bared his fangs at me, trying to scare me off. "It's going to be okay." I whispered, reaching out and scooping the pup up by his stomach, taking care not to move the trapped paw.

I held the wolf to the ground, gently, but firmly. I breathed out a sigh of relief. The trap had not severed his tiny paw. It had clamped down on the thick fur on his left forepaw. I took off my backpack, unzipped the front pocket, and pulled out my trusty pocket knife. I carefully pinned the pup down, and in one clean cut the long fur was shortened and the wolf was free.

I released my grip on him, expecting him to run. Instead he turned on me. I backed myself against a tree, not knowing what to do. He advanced, but he didn't seem threatening. He jumped up and put his forepaws on my shoulders and yipped.

_Pack-sister._

I froze. I could understand what he had said. I looked into his glistening yellow eyes. I could understand wolf-talk.

"This must be one of the weird things Dipper and Mabel were talking about." I whispered to myself.

I took his forepaws in my hands and lowered him to the ground. I got back on all fours, and yipped a reply. I had watched so many shows about wolves that I had lost count, so I knew practically everything about their ways of communicating. My yip wasn't as high-pitched as his, but he understood what I had asked him.

_Pack-sister?_

He licked my ear.

_You are my Pack-sister now._

I smiled and barked back.

_That makes you my Pack-brother._

I couldn't believe it. I could talk wolf. It came naturally here, but when I had tried to talk to the wolves at the zoo, they had just stared at me blankly.

"This place really is different." I told the wolf.

I watched in amusement as the pup scrambled over a log, trying to keep pace with me on his short legs.

_First thing's first. _I barked softly. _You need a name._

_Name!_ He yipped.

I crouched down and examined him.

_Bark when I get the right name._

He wagged his tail. He would bark.

_Dusk?_

No bark.

_Pine?_

Nothing.

_Hemlock? Dodge? Fish? Dirt?_

He hid his face in his paws.

_Thunder? Lightning? Bramble?_

A quick bark. He sprang up.

_Bramble? _I asked.

_Yes, yes, yes! _He yowled.

_Bramble it is._

"Vanessa, is that you?" Mabel stepped out from a clump of bracken that had blown onto the trail.

I stood up. "I'm pretty sure I'm Vanessa."

"Are you coming to the shack or what?"

"Yah." I looked at the pup. "Can I bring Bramble?"

"Of course!" Mabel got down on her knees, examining my wolf. "What kind of dog is he?"

"No dogs for me." I answered. "He's a wolf." I looked closer at him. "A Timber Wolf to be exact."

"Oh, might want to keep him away from Waddles." Mabel stood up and saw the questioning look on my face. "My pig." She explained. She looked at Bramble. "If you tell him to stay away from Waddles it will be okay. I think."

"Yah . . . I'm not sure if he'll listen to me. I kinda just found him."

"Then why is he following you around? Every time I try to catch a wolf it runs away."

"I'll explain later. Are you going to show me the shack or what?"

"Sure, come on!"

The Mystery Shack was different from what I expected. I thought it would be more like an old museum with all sorts of neat things and oddities, like Fiji Mermaids and stuffed Dodo Birds. Instead it was just an old cabin with a bunch of tacky glued together stuffed animals and junk.

Mabel had left the handy man, Soos, in charge of keeping Waddles company. Neither Waddles nor Soos cared. Mabel was now taking me on a tour of the tourist trap.

"And here we have the horrible, Preteen Wolf Boy!" She cried, walking up to a closed curtain and pulling a string to open it.

The curtain opened and I fell to the ground, laughing hysterically. Dipper was standing there dressed up as a wolf and wearing no shirt, furry pants, a fake wolf tail, a head band with fake ears on it, and fake fangs.

"You!" I gasped. "Look" *gasp* "Like" *gasp* "An" *gasp* "Idiot!"

Bramble didn't see what all this yip-and-yowl way of laughter was about. Clearly there is a strange cross between a wolf and a human who isn't sure of his place in the pack.

He stepped forward and sniffed Dipper's hand. Dipper screamed and fell back, he had been to busy glaring at me and Mabel and hadn't seen the quiet little wolf approach. The wolf boy's scream scared Bramble, and he jumped, turned tail, ran, and hid behind my legs.

_It's okay, Pack-brother. _I stroked Bramble's head, which seemed to calm him down. I looked at Dipper. "Well, clearly you need to spend more time with your own kind." I laughed.

Dipper ignored my smart remark and looked at me the same way Mabel had when she had first seen me.

"Did you just _talk _to him?"

"Uh . . ." I looked around and spotted several tourists wandering amongst the oddities. "Is there any place we could all talk in private?"

"Yah, come on." Dipper and Mabel led Bramble and me up to their room, which, like mine, was in the attic.

"I have an attic bedroom too!" I chimed.

"Now tell me about that talking thing you did with it." Dipper demanded, once again ignoring what I had said.

"Well . . ." I told them what had happened in the woods.

"So, you say speaking in 'Wolf-talk' came naturally?" Asked Dipper, leaning closer and studying my eyes as if he could tell if I was lying or not. That made me a little nervous, I generally need my personal space.

I pushed him away. "Yes, naturally." I looked at the twins with pleading eyes. "Don't tell anyone, please. I'll be 'That Freakish Wolf Girl' instead of 'That Quiet Girl.' I don't want a worse title."

"Your secret's safe with us!" said Mabel.

I noticed that Dipper was crouched down on the floor by his bed, and was flipping through some old book.

"What's that?"

He turned and hid the book behind his back. "What's what?"

"Don't play dumb." I grabbed the book from him and looked it over. It had a maroon red cover that was ripped in some places, and was decorated with a six-fingered golden hand with the black number three on it. I flipped the book open and began to skim the pages. My eyes grew wider and wider as I read the page titles. Gnomes, Zombies, Ghosts, Floating Eyeballs, Cursed Doors, everything paranormal you could imagine. Then the writing stopped. The book hadn't been finished. I looked at the twins. "This was the weird stuff you guys were talking about!"

Dipper took the book back.

"Is there anything about talking to animals in there?" I asked.

Once again Dipper looked straight into my eyes.

"You can't tell anyone about this book."

I stared back and blinked innocently. "I won't."

He blinked. "Your eyes are different colors." Dipper pointed out.

I glanced at the mirror on the wall. My left eye was a stunning azure blue, but my right eye was a toxic emerald green. I rubbed my hand over them.

"Sorry, they do that when I'm feeling strong emotion. That book got me excited." I uncovered my eyes. "Better?"

"Yah, now they're just a blue-gray color."

Dipper flipped open the book and began to silently read the last few filled out pages. Mabel and I sat on the wooden floor, fussing over Bramble.

"Can you tell him that I think that he's the best little wolf in the world?"

I turned to Bramble. _Mabel says that you're the best little wolf in the world._

Bramble cocked his head and pointed his nose at Mabel.

_She's Brown-furred Pack-sister. _He grunted. _And I'm not little!_

I turned back to Mabel. "He doesn't like to be called little, and he can't say your name."

Mabel looked sad.

"Don't worry, he can't say my name either. He calls me Pack-sister."

"What does he call me?"

"Brown-furred Pack-sister. And I'm guessing he'd call Dipper Brown-furred Pack-brother."

"I've got it!" Dipper jumped up and waved his book around. By the sound of his voice you would have thought that he had just found the answer to global warming.

"Got what?" asked Mabel.

"I know why Vanessa can talk to Bramble!" He began to read aloud from his book. "The forest grants those who see its true beauty with a certain power that relates to the part of the forest that person enjoys the most. For example, someone who enjoys trees could become a dryad. Someone who enjoys flowers could be granted with the power to grow wild flowers wherever they please. And someone who enjoys animals can be gifted with a power that has to do with the animals they like."

"Wow." I breathed. "Any of those powers would be amazing."

Dipper kept reading. "The only way to prove that a you have been given powers is to drink this really complicated potion that allows you and others to see your innermost aura. Regular aura is a solid color, but if you have a power there will be tints of other colors."

"Can I see the potion recipe? I'm really good with herbs." Dipper handed me the book. I read the ingredients out loud. "Five poppy heads, three coltsfoot leaves, eight strands of onion grass, one sprig of thyme, and two lavender leaves all mixed together in spring water." I set the book down. "Sounds gross. I'm not drinking spring water."

"Let's just try it with tap water." Suggested Mabel, silently agreeing that stream water didn't sound too appetizing.

I looked back at the book. "The potion can only work under the light of the half-way risen waning crescent moon." I looked at Mabel. "If I'm not mistaken, that's tomorrow night."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Mabel.

For a second I thought she was asking me, then I realized that she was talking to Dipper.

"Um . . ." Dipper looked at the floor, concentrating very hard. "You should make the potion during the day . . ." His voice trailed off in a series of mumbled calculations. "The moon will be halfway to its highest point at around nine o'clock, so you should drink it then." He looked at me and smiled, clearly happy that he had figured everything out.

Now it was my turn to look at the floor. "I'm not sure how I feel about drinking some random potion."

"You can sleep over here tomorrow!" cried Mabel. "That way we can help you if anything goes wrong!"

I gulped. "Goes wrong?"

"Don't worry." Said Dipper. "Mabel never chooses the right words to use."

"He's right you know!"

Bramble barked and flicked his ear. What he had said roughly translated to, _Strange Brown-furred Pack-sister. _


	4. The Potion Effects

Chapter 4:

The Potion Effects

"Are you sure about this?" I stared into the brackish colored water. "It looks like the puddle behind my house, minus the frogs."

Once again I was in the Mystery Shack attic, but this time I was standing next to Dipper and Mabel while staring at the potion I had made earlier.

"Come on, it'll be fine!" coaxed Mabel. "What's the worst that could happen?"

I thought about telling her that someone could have sprayed weed killer on the plants I used in the potion, and that if I drank it I would become really sick and die, but she seemed unnaturally sure about this, so I didn't.

"Hurry up and drink it already!" Dipper seemed a little impatient.

"Awww . . . did the little lamb not get enough beauty sleep?" I grinned and began to talk in a mock-angry voice that a mother would use. "Dipper Pines, did you stay up all night thinking about Wendy?"

"How did you . . ." Dipper turned and glared at his sister. "Why must you tell everyone?!"

I laughed. I had decided that I just wanted to be friends with him. Anyways he liked Wendy. Like that would ever work for him.

"DON'T TELL ANYONE!" Dipper yelled at me.

"Your pathetic secret is safe with me!" I giggled, then did a Derpy-like salute. **(Derpy is a really awesome MLP. Look her up.)**

"Are you gonna drink the potion or what?" he growled.

"Okay, okay!" I picked up the cup of the brownish green mixture of tap water and herbs, put it to my lips, and swallowed. After it was gone I set the glass on the floor, fought to keep the drink down, then smiled at my friends. "Tastes sweet."

"Do you feel any different?" asked Dipper.

"Not really." I paused dramatically. "Wait, hold on . . ."

The twins held their breath and leaned forward.

"JK!" I laughed, but my joy of the prank was short-lived. My mouth shut and, against my will, the room was silenced.

"Vanessa?" Mabel's voice had hints of worry in it.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't. My mouth wouldn't move. My entire body began to rise. I flashed terrified glances at the twins. _This isn't happening!_

Bramble backed into a corner, whimpering softly. Unlike the humans in the room with him, he could sense magic being used. And he didn't like it one bit.

A bright green flash filled the attic, blinding me for a few seconds. When my vision returned, I realized that I was surrounded by a veil of dark green light. Inside the green danced flashes of deep turquoise.

The potion had worked.

I started to feel light-headed. My vision became blurry again. I dropped to my knees and doubled over as a wave of pain surged over me. I felt like my souls were being torn to pieces.

_This can't be happening! This is not supposed to happen! _

Through my blurry eyes I saw Dipper pull his book out from inside his vest and frantically flip through it. His brown eyes scanned the page, and then he suddenly slammed his finger down, pointing to a clump of words.

He shouted something, but I couldn't hear him. Inside the bubble-like veil was nothing but eerie silence.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the veil snapped and disappeared. I found myself falling. I thudded to the attic floor between the twin's beds, hitting my head on the ground.

"What the crud did you do?!" I screamed at Dipper, sitting up and rubbing my head. "I need to think with this!"

"Sorry, I had to say a spell to stop the potion effects, we couldn't stand the noise." Dipper said, helping me stand up.

I wobbled a bit, then balanced myself by grabbing the edge of Mabel's bed. "What noise?"

"You couldn't hear it?" asked Mabel. "It sounded like a jet was taking off in our room!"

"I couldn't hear or do anything." I admitted. "It was pretty scary."

Bramble sensed my confidence dwindle, and he ran to my side and nosed my hand.

_It's alright, Pack-sister. It's alright!_

I bent down and hugged him, which made me feel safer.

"Great StarClan that scared me!" I stood up, still swaying a bit. "Did the book say anything about extreme pain?"

"No, but maybe that happened because we didn't use spring water." Dipper answered.

"Oh." Everyone was quiet for a while, and when I felt like I was really going to be okay, I asked a question. "Well, what do we do now?"

"Ummm . . . well this _is _a sleepover so, how about some sort of game?" suggested Dipper.

"Spin the Bottle!" yelled Mabel.

"NO!" Dipper and I both screamed in unison.

Mabel fell to the floor, laughing.

I thought for a second, then remembered a game I always used to play with my friends back in Pennsylvania. "Manhunt?"

"Sure!" cried Mabel, recovering from her laughing fit.

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Her brother agreed.


	5. Manhunt, Powers, and My Little Pony

Chapter 5:

Manhunt, Powers, and My Little Pony

We all fanned out into different rooms to get ready for the game. I was getting ready in the bathroom, Mabel was in her room, and Dipper was downstairs somewhere.

I dipped my right index finger into a small case of eyeliner that Mabel had given me, and trailed that finger under both my eyes, darkening my face. I pulled on black pants and a rather long long-sleeved black shirt, and topped it all off with a black ski cap. I smiled at my reflection. I was more and more serious about this game every time I played.

Mabel knocked on the door. "Ready yet?"

"Yep!" I came out of the bathroom to see that Mabel was wearing a black sweater with the Chinese Yin and Yang symbol on it, a black skirt, and a black headband. "Nice outfit!"

"Thanks!"

I looked around, not seeing her brunette brother. "Where's Dipper?"

"Downstairs." A metal-filled grin spread across Mabel's face. "Race you there!"

"You're so on!"

When Mabel and I tumbled down the stairs, we nearly crashed into Dipper, who was standing by the door. He was wearing his regular outfit, but his vest and hat were both camouflage print.

I smiled. "Get to the coppa!"

Both twins gave me a confused look.

"Army Baby. Look it up." **(Seriously people, look up Army Baby)**

I growled for Bramble to come, and we got the rules set.

Bramble and I ducked behind a bush as quickly as possible, using the cover of darkness to conceal ourselves. I saw Mabel leave the shack, soon followed by her twin brother.

We all had decided that it would be Twins verses Wolves, Wolves being Bramble and me. Dipper had tossed a coin to see who hid first, and it ended up landing on tails, which I had called. Then Bramble had tried to eat the coin.

Said wolf slipped silently into the shadows, muttering something about following Mabel's scent. I envied his stealth and sleek tawny pelt.

"I wish I was a wolf." I breathed. Just then I felt a horrible burning sensation in my chest, and I fell backwards with a yelp. The burning quickly went away, but when I got up I still felt different. I was lower to the ground, and more aware of sounds and smells. When I looked around, I could practically see the scent trails of humans and animals that had passed through the area.

_What's going on? _I looked at my feet. They weren't there. I didn't have feet. I had paws. I spun around, following my bushy tail. _Tail? _I couldn't believe it! I was a wolf! This must be another power!

"Dipper, Mabel!" I howled, crashing out of my hiding place. "I have another power!" That's when I realized that I was speaking in wolf-talk. They wouldn't be able to understand me. I would have to show them.

I followed the same scent trail that Bramble had, and soon found Mabel. I darted up to her.

"Look, look what I can do!" I barked, jumping up and down in an excited frenzy.

Mabel screamed and backed herself up against the side of the Mystery Shack.

"What's wrong?" I stepped forward. I wasn't being threatening, just friendly.

Mabel began to scream louder. I trotted up to her, but she did her best to keep a good ways away from me. _I guess I have to turn back into a human. But how? _I began to worry. _How do I turn back?_

"Hey!" Dipper's voice rang through the air. I turned my head. He was holding a fairly large rock, and was acting as if he was going to throw it. "Stay away from my sister!"

He chucked the rock at me, but I nimbly jumped aside and, before he could react, jumped forward and tackled him. Dipper fell back and tried to get away, but I pinned him to the ground.

"It's me!" I whimpered, looking into his brown eyes. "It's me!"

His terrified look vanished.

"Vanessa?"

"Yes!" I barked, jumping off to the side so he could get up. A feeling of relief flooded over me. _Thank StarClan!_

"What happened to you?" He asked, standing up.

I sat down, unable to answer for two reasons. One, he wouldn't understand, and two, I honestly didn't know what had happened to me.

Bramble trotted over from his hiding spot among the tree line. He had given up his search for Mabel early and could sense my worries.

_It's okay, Pack-sister. _He brushed up against me.

_How do you know it's me?_

Your aura is still there.

Wow. That's pretty cool.

Dipper had pulled his book out from his vest and was flipping through the pages.

I sighed. This could take a while. Bramble sat down next to me. I looked down at him. He was only about one-third my size, but just as smart and even wittier. I looked at myself. My pelt was dappled gray, but my tail fur tapered into bright silver.

Dipper looked up from his book. "You have to wish yourself back."

_Well that's stupid. _I growled. _You almost brained me with a rock when I could have just quickly wished myself back? _

The brunette boy looked at me, clearly wondering if I had understood what he had said.

I would have rolled my eyes, but you can't really do that when you're a wolf.

_I wish I was human again._

The burning sensation. Another terrified scream from Mabel. A white flash. Dipper falling back, as if he was worried that I would turn into some sort of half-wolf half-human hybrid that would skin him alive. I stood up. I was normal me again.

"Vanessa?" Mabel stepped forward. "Is it really you?"

"Let me see . . ." I trailed off, then began to mutter. "Sunshine plus roosters subtracted by three hundred seventy-five multiplied by the fraction of light equals rainbow dragons." I looked back at Mabel. "Yes, I am _still _that sparkly girl in the corner."

"Thank goodness!" she cried, throwing her arms around me. "I thought I was gonna lose my new friend!"

She was suffocating me, so I had to pry her off.

I turned to Dipper. "How did you know it was me, and not some rabid wolf?" I asked him.

"Your eyes."

I flashed a cross-eyed look at my nose, as if I could see my eyes.

"What about my eyes?" I asked, blinking them back to normal.

He smiled. "They were different colors. And you were under stress, a strong emotion."

"Huh. Cool."

"Do you want to watch My Little Pony?" Mabel asked randomly and loudly.

I turned to her, a wide grin spreading across my face. "Does a Basilisk Dragon secrete venom though its feet?"

She cocked her head.

I frowned. "Yes, yes it does."

"Are you a brony? Are you a brony? Are you a brony?" I repeatedly asked Dipper, poking him in the arm each time I asked.

"No. No. FOR THE LAST TIME, NO!"

I pouted. "Why not?"

"Because My Little Pony is for little girls!"

I punched him really hard, knocking him off the chair we were sitting on.

"Hey!" He cried, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Whoops. My hand slipped." I sent him a glare that read, 'Say that one more time and you'll wake up really confused in the middle of Africa.'

"Shush!" cried Mabel, who was sitting on the floor, her eyes glued to the T.V. "Twilight Sparkle is about to start singing the True, True Friend Song!"

"The True, True Friend Song?!" My head whipped around and I jumped up. "Let's sing along!"

"No way, I'm not singing that." grumbled Dipper.

"Awww, come on Dipper! You know the words!" An evil smile spread across Mabel's face. "If you don't I'll tell Wendy that you like her!" The somewhat devilish twin said in a sing-song voice.

"You wouldn't!"

"I think that we've already established that she would." I said, leaning against the armchair I had been sitting on.

"Fine, I'll sing along." Dipper said with absolutely no spirit whatsoever.

"Yay!" Mabel and I screamed in unison.

We all sang together in unison, Dipper with much less enthusiasm than Mabel and me, but still singing, which I had to give him credit for.

After we sang like idiots, I yawned. "What time is it?"

Dipper looked at his watch. "Ten ten."

Mabel yawned. "I'm tired." She looked at me with sleepy eyes. "What time do you normally go to bed?"

"On a regular summer night, eleven. At sleepovers, two in the morning." I smiled. "And this is a sleepover."

Mabel smiled. "Let's talk about boys!"

"Oh brother." Grumbled Dipper, who clearly was not thrilled by the subject of boys.

"Ummm . . . okay, I guess." I, being like Dipper, didn't care much for talking about boys.

"Who do you have a crush on?" Mabel demanded.

The brunette and I were sitting on the attic floor playing Truth or Dare, and everything she asked me had to do with boys. It was almost to annoying to take. Dipper, as usual was lost in another book.

I shrugged. "No one that comes to mind." I got a thoughtful look. "Although . . . nah."

"Really? Don't you spend every spare second thinking about how your epic summer romance is going to play out?"

"Ummm . . . no." I answered flatly. With all this talk about romance I guessed that she probably liked Twilight. "Let me guess . . ." I thought for a second. "Team Edward?"

"YES!" Screamed Mabel. "He's a vampire! I love vampires!" She calmed down. "Do you like Twilight?"

"No. I like Jurassic Park. It's funny."

Mabel stared at me with a hurt look.

"You don't like Twilight?"

"No, I don't like sappy romance and junk like that."

"Agreed!" Said Dipper, not looking up from the Dragonology book I had let him borrow.

Mabel just shook it off. "I never saw any of the Jurassic Park movies, what are they like?"

"I saw one." Dipper looked up from a page about Hydras and locked eyes with his twin. "I was enough to make you stay in sweater town for three whole weeks."

"Sweater Town?" I questioned.

"She pulls her sweater over her face and rocks back and forth in a corner." Dipper explained.

"Oh . . ."

For the rest of the night we played more Truth or Dare, ate way to much of my secret stash of chocolate, started talking in random accents, and had a sing off, which somehow resulted in me being duck taped to the wall for a half hour before Dipper finally pulled me down. We all finally fell asleep, Dipper and Mabel in their beds and Bramble and me on a pile of blankets in a corner.

**Sorry everything happens so fast, I'm trying to get better at slowing things down. Hope you like my, I mean, Vanessa's new power. I'll update before the next GF episode comes out. I know what it's called. *Crosses her eyes* I know everything . . .**


	6. Wolves in the Woods

Chapter 6:

Wolves in the Woods

A long howl rang through the trees as I sat on a large flat rock by a river which eventually led to the Gravity Falls Waterfall. I howled back a reply, knowing that it was Bramble's victory call and that his pack had just brought down a doe.

Bramble's gleeful cry soon ended as he and his new pack-mates dug into their kill. Yep, new pack-mates. My parents wouldn't let me bring Bramble inside the house because he was a wild animal, so I left him outside on his own most of the time. He had soon been accepted into a pack he referred to as, "The Eastern Pack." According to him there were five packs, Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and the Shadow Pack. The Shadow Pack is hardly ever seen, and is mercilessly dangerous. The rest of the packs are really nice.

I smiled. I myself had been accepted into the Eastern Pack, obviously when I was in wolf form. The pack knew that I was different, but they still saw me as a worthy pack-sister. Turning into a wolf had become a regular thing for me. I would be a wolf on weekends, and a human on week days. Today was Monday. A human day.

I got up and mentally judged how long it was going to take me to get to the Mystery Shack. About a half hour by foot. Ten minutes by paw.

I switched into wolf form with a thought. _I wish I was a wolf. _

Every time I turned into a wolf, the burning sensation I had felt the first time hurt less and less, until it felt little more than a warm tickle.

I shook my glossy pelt and began to run down the cliff side. It was really steep and dangerous here, but I had scaled it before, and I had no trouble doing it again. I jumped about five feet to the forest floor, and immediately started running press-paw.

I was almost at the shack when a voice sent me skidding to a halt.

"You're one too?"

I looked towards the bracken where the voice had come from and saw a pure white male wolf staring at me with stunningly bright green eyes. His fur was long and well-groomed, and he had a certain atmosphere about him. A joyful atmosphere.

"I thought Aquarius and I were the only ones!"

I hesitated. This wolf seemed different, he was acting human-like. Kind of like me.

"Only what?" I questioned, carefully speaking in wolf-talk as usual.

"The only ones with the wolf transformation power!" He barked excitedly.

"Wait, so you're human too?"

"Yep!" He wagged his tail.

"You got these powers from the forest because you envied the wolves, didn't you?" I already knew what the answer was, but I couldn't help but ask.

"Yah, that's how I got 'um!"

I made a noise that was halfway between a bark and a laugh. Talking to him was weird. It was as if we'd known each other for years.

"Keep it down, Capricorn! You're gonna get us in trouble!" A copper-colored she-wolf slid out of the bracken from behind the white male. She stopped abruptly when she saw me. "Who are you?"

"I-I'm Vanessa Evergreen."

"Nice to meet you!" The white wolf chimed. "I'm Capricorn Greentone, and this is . . ."

The copper wolf cut him off.

"Aquarius Pennycoin." Her amber gaze studied me for a second. "I've never seen a wolf with mismatched eyes before." She gave a friendly growl. "But then again, nothing should come as a surprise when you live in Gravity Falls!"

I cocked my head. "So, you're _both _humans?"

"Yes." They answered in unison.

Aquarius whipped around and glared at Capricorn. "NEVER speak at the same time as me. OR ELSE!"

I gave a wolf-version of a smile. I liked these guys.

"So, you're the only humans with this power?"

"Well, there was Gwen, but she got her powers taken away when she killed a wolf pup." Aquarius saw my shocked look. "Long story."

"Oh." I was about to say something else when I heard Dipper screaming that he didn't want to put on make-up. I guessed that Mabel was probably chasing him.

Capricorn swivelled his ears towards the sound, and Aquarius turned her head.

"We're going back to the Western Pack, but we don't want those kids to see us. They're much smarter than they appear."

"What, you mean Dipper and Mabel?"

Aquarius blinked at me. "You know them?"

"Yah, they're my friends." I looked down in embarrassment. "My only friends actually."

"And they know you have the power?" questioned Capricorn.

"They know, and they're cool with it. Honestly, I'm the most normal person they know." An idea popped into my head. "How about you guys come hang out with us?"

"Ummm . . ." Aquarius sounded unsure, but Capricorn answered for her.

"Sure, lead the way!"

I led them through some bramble thickets and stopped behind one that was just off to the side of the tourist trap.

"We should turn back into humans, that way no one will be suspicious."

"Good call." said Aquarius as I turned back into my normal blonde-haired gray-blue-eyed self.

In small flashes of white light, the two wolves in front of me had turned into humans. Aquarius was actually a few inches taller than me, and had back hair that hung down to her hips. She was wearing a green-blue t-shirt, tan shorts, a Poke`ball baseball cap, orange flip-flops, and at least eight charm bracelets on each arm.

Capricorn, however, was wearing a black sweatshirt, whitewash jeans, black shoes, and a simple green baseball cap that was the same color of his almost neon green eyes. He had blonde hair that was slightly lighter than mine, and had a big, goofy, metal-filled smile, just like Mabel's.

I led Capricorn and Aquarius into the Mystery Shack parking lot, only to be knocked to the ground by Dipper, who was running at top speed in order to get away from his sister.

I stumbled to my feet as Mabel whirled past me, holding a make-up kit and screaming, "I just wanna see how it looks!" She skidded to a halt and walked backwards until she had full view of the newcomers. When she saw Capricorn her brown eyes lit up. "HiI'mMabelIlikesparklesdoyouwanttomeetmypig?!"

"Ummm . . ." Capricorn had to think for a second to interpret what she had just said because she had said it way too fast. He got his bearings back and held out his hand. "Capricorn Greentone is the name. I also like sparkles, and yes, I would like to meet your pig."

Mabel grabbed his hand and half-led half-dragged him over to where Waddles was napping in the shade of a low-hanging dogwood tree.

Dipper, seeing that he was now safe from his sister, walked over to Aquarius and me.

"What's your name?" He asked Aquarius.

"Aquarius Pennycoin. What's yours?"

"Dipper Pines." He was quiet for a second. "Is Aquarius your nickname?"

"Actually, no. I was born in February, so my astrological sign is the water bearer, Aquarius." She looked over to where Mabel was talking to Capricorn. "Same with Capricorn. He was born in December, so his constellation is the goat, Capricorn." She looked back at Dipper. "I'm guessing by your question that Dipper is your nickname."

"You guessed right."

"Why do people call you that?" Aquarius asked.

"I've been wondering that too." I looked at Dipper, waiting for an answer.

"I'd rather not talk about it . . ." Dipper rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground.

Aquarius and I exchanged confused glances.

"So, how did you guys meet?" He asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

Again Aquarius looked at me, her unnatural amber gaze filled with terror. I knew how she felt. I too, had thought of the consequences of someone finding out about my power, and none of them were good.

I returned the look, causing my right eye to flash azure blue and the other to flash toxic emerald green. But instead of filling my gaze with terror, I filled it with certainty.

"We met today in the woods." I looked into Dipper's brown eyes. "While we were in wolf form."

Shock filled Dipper's gaze. "We? You-you mean they have the power too?"

"Yep." I raised an eyebrow. "And to prove it . . ." I nodded at Aquarius and we both switched into our wolf forms.

Dipper stepped back. He still wasn't too keen on the power thing. According to him there always had to be some sort of catch.

Capricorn noticed that Aquarius and I were wolves, and turned into the white wolf I had first met. Mabel's eyes grew wide, but instead of stepping back like her brother, she started jumping up and down excitedly.

"Werewolf!" She cheered. "Dipper, look! Capricorn is a werewolf! Yay! That's almost as cool as a vampire!" She looked over at her twin and saw him standing in front of me and the other wolf. "They're both werewolves! Yes!"

Aquarius and I looked at each other with confused expressions.

"They're not werewolves." Dipper said flatly. "They just have that power."

"Oh . . . so they're like Vanessa!"

_Exactly! _Barked Capricorn, even though she wouldn't be able to understand him.

_Wow. _I thought. _He's just like Mabel. _

_Pack-sister, Pack-sister! _Bramble crashed into the Mystery Shack parking lot and tackled me completely. There was a very small and limp animal hanging from his jaws, which muffled his speech. _I caught a mouse!_

Great!

I replied. This was his first kill I guess, but it still was hard to act excited about killing a mouse.

_I don't think we've met yet. _Aquarius padded forward and touched her nose to Bramble's shoulder in a sign of welcome. _I'm Aquarius. _

And I'm Capricorn!

Said wolf bounded up to Bramble and play-tackled him.

_I'm Bramble! _He barked, jumping up.

A bark from another wolf in the forest sounded nearby, and Bramble took off in that direction.

Aquarius, Capricorn, and I all turned back into our human forms.

"How can Bramble understand your names?" I asked.

"All wolves understand the constellations, like the ones we're named after."

"Wow."

We all stood around and talked for a while, and the whole time Mabel was flirting with Capricorn. She's not very good at that. When it got dark we all said good night and went our separate ways, but none of us noticed the reflections of blood red eyes watching us from the shadows of the forest.

**Okay, I know this chapter seems really stupid and unimportant, but trust me, Aquarius and Capricorn are important to the story. FYI: If you have a cool idea for a wolf (just a regular one) comment and leave its pelt color, eye color, age (in months), name, and personality. **


	7. Author's Note! Please Read!

**Okay, so far I have only seven wolf ideas given. Considering that there are like, 20 to 30 wolves in a pack, I'm gonna need more ideas. I was kinda hoping that I wouldn't have to come up with all of them myself. I'm lazy, people!**

**Again, here's what I want,**

**Age: (in months, or years, I guess)**

**Name: (Make it something the wolves would understand, like something from nature or something to do with the stars. They know everything about the stars.)**

**Pelt: (Color? Can be unusual, but I'll only take a few of these.)**

**Eyes: (A wolf's eyes tell all. The color can reflect their personality, heritage, or just be random. Some mismatched eye colorings will be excepted, but none like Vanessa's.)**

**Personality: (Carefree, loyal, optimist, you get the gist.) **

**Okay, here's some new categories (These are optional):**

**Bio: (Tell about your wolf's past.)**

**Family Tree: (You can give me multiple wolf ideas, and if you want they can be connected by heritage, or maybe you want to connect your wolf with one of mine or another person's idea.)**

**Alright, I'm done typing this. I'd prefer that you just put your ideas in your reveiw for this, but I guess you can PM me. FYI: I am not allowed to PM you guys back, so, yeah . . . Oh, I might change some characteristics about your wolves, and some may die. Sorry. I promise that I won't change the color or personality, but probably the Family Tree. Well, looking forward to your ideas!**


	8. Shadows' Rising

**A/N: HAPPY SUMMERWEEN, EVERYBODY! Yep, that's today! June 22nd! This chapter is my Summerween gift to you! Are you all in your costumes? I'm still in my PJs, but I'm going to dress up as Dipper today! Horray for Dippingsauce! Well, here's your gift! ;)**

A savage growl broke the still air, but no one was close enough to hear it. If one had heard, a chill would have rippled up their spine and they would have felt the urgency to run. But if someone was curious and followed the sound, they would have come across a horrific sight.

A large pack of wolves, all with matted and unclean pelts, was packed into a clearing, much resembling a school of piranhas. They snapped at each other, each of them trying to grab themselves a chunk of rancid meat from a very small and very rotten deer carcass that was being ripped to shreds by the alpha male.

Normally when you think of a lead wolf, you think of a noble creature with eyes that dance with the light of life. This male was the opposite. His black pelt was clumped with briars and clotted with the sticky blood of both friend and foe. It wasn't just the blood-slicked pelt that made him scary, but his eyes too. They were the deep maroon of rotting blood, and were etched in a pussy yellow. Fixated into a permanent glare, the small black pupils darted about in a mad way, keeping every pack member under check, but not in a protective manner.

The alpha female that stood beside him was just as horrendous, but much smaller even though she was pup-heavy with her third litter.

All of the wolves were underfed and most of them looked half-dead, staggering about in an almost blind fashion. It was close to impossible to tell one from the other, because they all had the same red eyes and black pelts to match their leaders'.

Now most people are amazed by the black wolf's coloring, seeing it as a ninja-like disguise. But this black was nether the black of a glossy raven wing, nor the black of a midnight winter sky. It was more like the black of an old floor tile, dusted with age.

The alpha male, who went by the name Carnassial, raised his head and let out a howl. The howl was long and downright terrifying, and it let the starving pack know one thing. The hunt was about to begin.

My face reddened with every word Mabel spoke, and I had to hold myself back from tackling her completely.

I was (once again) in the Mystery Shack attic, but this time I was with only Mabel and Aquarius. Dipper and Capricorn were downstairs in the gift shop, and I was glad about that, because otherwise they would see right through my anger and sort-of-kind-of lies.

"Shut up!" I fumed. "Mabel, shut up!"

Mabel frowned. "Why are you so angry?"

"Because you've been repeatedly saying that I have a crush on your brother!"

"But you do!"

"No, I don't!" I bit the inside of my lip. When I thought about it, that was a lie, in a way, I guess. I know that I had decided to be just friends, but still. If you have a small crush you don't have to tell, do you?

"Fine, fine." Said Mabel, giving in. "But don't deny it when you do get a crush!"

"Fine, fine." I mocked, using a stupid voice. "But don't deny that you have a crush on Capricorn!"

Mabel flashed me a brace-filled smile. "I don't deny!"

I rolled my eyes. You can't really insult that girl.

"Hello? Aquarius still exists!" Aquarius waved her arms around to get our attention. "I'm really tired of being ignored!"

"Sorry." I apologized, then turned back to Mabel. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"Let's get the guys to take us on a nature walk!"

"You know that we could go on a nature walk without the boys, right?" Aquarius pointed out.

"Yah, but I like it better when there's a cute guy to flirt with!"

"I'm guessing you mean Capricorn, not your brother."

"Ewww! That would be gross!" Mabel cried, making fake gaging noises.

"Alright, alright! Let's go find the guys."

We ran down the stairs into the Mystery Shack gift shop to find Dipper and Capricorn standing by the counter and laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"He," Dipper gasped between laughs. "Cap heard that Robbie was coming, and he put a bucket of water over the door, and when Robbie opened the door," The slightly younger twin when into another laughing fit. "The bucket fell on him, and he got soaked! Then the bucket got stuck on his head!"

By now all of us girls were enjoying the story, Mabel and I laughing like idiots and Aquarius giggling through her hands. The image of an idiot teen **(No offence to any of you teens) **with a bucket on his head was pretty hilarious.

After a while I calmed down. "Who's Robbie?"

"He's Wendy's jerky boyfriend." Dipper answered, his cheery face vanishing.

"Oh, so you're stuck in a love triangle and the odds are definitely not in your favor." I concluded.

Dipper didn't reply.

"We were wondering if you guys wanted to take us on a walk." Aquarius stated to the two boys. "But if you're too scared that some sort of snake or monster will chase you, you can stay behind."

"Who said anything about being scared?" growled Capricorn.

"Are you gonna take a walk with us or not?"

"Okay, okay!" Capricorn threw his hands up in defeat as he started to walk towards the door, followed by the rest of us.

Dipper led us to an old deer trail he had discovered behind the shack, one laden with straying tendrils of ivy and nearly covered with fiddlehead ferns. Aquarius and I walked with him, but Mabel and Capricorn walked together a little farther behind, talking in hushed voices. Once in a while, Mabel's tell-tale laugh would ring out, and I would whirl around and whisper-yell, telling her to be quiet. Eventually, the two lovebirds fell too far behind to hear, and I could finally immerse myself in the sounds of the forest.

The steady babble of a nearby creek, the shrill cark of a proud jay, yes, this was my element. I started to run, leaving the others behind. I couldn't help myself. I just loved the feeling. The wind rushing through my dirty blonde hair, the leaves whipping at my legs, even the drone of a bees' nest as I sprinted past. Even though I had been walking with friends on a thin trail in the middle of nowhere, I wasn't worried about leaving them behind. Dipper already knew the trail, and Capricorn would keep the girls in line if he had to.

I eventually skidded to a stop beside a large boulder, and collapsed on top of it, panting, but happy. Bramble, who had followed my scent all the way from the shack, trotted out of the forest and stretched out on the rock by my side. I scratched behind his ear.

"Good wolf." Somehow I had always known that I would say that, but I had figured that it would have been on a research trip to Washington to study the rise and fall of wolf populations, while examining a tranquilized alpha wolf or something.

A dove landed in the tree above us and cooed softly as a hawk's screeching cry sounded in the distance. The deep green pine needles swished from side to side in the cool breeze, which was also blowing oak leaves off the few pin oak trees that grew between the pines and redwoods.

"Vanessa?" Dipper's voice rang through the air, but I could barely hear it over the carks of a nearby murder of crows. **(Yes, for those of you who aren't outdoorsey people, and group of crows is called a murder.) **"Where'd you go?"

"Coming!" I rolled my eyes and looked at Bramble. "Is he ever not paranoid?"

Bramble sighed in a funny way as he stood up and started to trot back to where Dipper's call had come from.

"Hey, wait for me!" I sprang up and ran after him.

Everyone was waiting a little ways back from where I had stopped, even Mabel and Capricorn. I noticed that Mabel had a scared look on her face, and she was holding on to Capricorn's arm as if it was her life source.

"Awww . . . Dipper, did you tell your sister a scary story?" I asked him, looking worriedly at Mabel. She doesn't scare easy, so to put her in a state like this you'd have to say or do something pretty bad.

"She thought she saw something in the woods, and now she wants to go back to the shack." **(Ahhh! Unintentional rhyme! Well, I did win the poetry contest twice . . .) **Dipper said, frowning. "And I thought I was the paranoid one." He muttered.

Capricorn punched him in the arm with his hand that wasn't being cut of its circulation by a scared brunette.

Dipper cussed under his breath, and I stifled a laugh, which earned me an angry glare.

I returned the glare with a toothy smile that Tooth from Rise of the Guardians would be proud of. My enjoyment was interrupted by a low growl from Bramble. I crouched down next to him.

"What is it, boy?" I rubbed the back of his neck and realized that the hairs on his spine were standing on end. He never acted like this. Something was wrong. Very wrong. I followed the tawny pup's yellow gaze into the shadows of the trees, and I immediately knew that Mabel had every right to be scared.

I stood up and glanced at Aquarius and Capricorn. They had seen it too. They locked eyes with me and we all switched into wolf form. I barked to Cap.

_Take them back to the shack. _**(OMG, another rhyme! Grr.)**

Capricorn nodded, and gently grabbed the end of Mabel's neon green sweater sleeve and began to her back to the Mystery Shack. Dipper followed, not wanting to leave his sister's side in these woods.

I waited until they disappeared from my line of sight, and stepped into the shadows alongside Aquarius, leaving an anxious Bramble behind. I approached what had made Bramble act up, and knew why he had gotten so worried.

A dead wolf, one with pussy red eyes wide open, was laying on its side atop the rotting leaves and pine needles that littered the forest floor. There was a long, jagged gash down its exposed side, and you could see its intestines. The worst stench you could possibly imagine was rising from the now cold body, giving the impression that it had been there a while.

This was no ordinary death. Some wolves choose to find a quiet place in the forest to die, but this one had died in a fight. And by the looks of it, he hadn't stood much of a chance against his rival.

_What do you think happened? _I nervously whined to Aquarius.

_Looks like the work of Carnassial. _She replied, then began to explain. _The Shadow Pack's alpha male. He kills any pack member that's weak or old. _She used her nose to point at the wolf's paw. _He would be no use to the pack. He's crippled. _

I leaned closer, gagging from the smell. Sure enough, the wolf's left forepaw was twisted backwards, clearly a hunting incident.

_But Mabel couldn't of seen this, it blends in too easily. So, what did she see? _I questioned.

_I've heard rumors that the Shadow Pack has left its territory, but I don't believe them. They would never get past Kodiak. _

_Who's Kodiak?_

_He's a very large grizzly bear that keeps the packs in line, and stops any fights from breaking out. He chased the Shadow Pack away from the Northern Pack two years ago, and he pursued them for miles into the back ends of their territory. They wouldn't dare anger him again. _Aquarius looked nervously at the dead wolf. _But if Carnassial finished this guy off here . . . _She trailed off and glanced at the shadows surrounding us, her worried look all but fading. _We need to get back to our friends. _

I didn't question her knowledge. She had been granted her power three years ago, long before me. I had had my power for less than two months. She knew more about life in the pack.

We both broke into a run, speeding down the trail neck and neck, Bramble taking off in another direction. We caught up to our friends a little over halfway back to the Mystery Shack. All of us wolves shape-shifted back into our human form and carefully watched the shadows the rest of the way.

We all walked in silence into the shack and up into the twins' room.

"So, what did Mabel see?" Dipper asked as we all sat down on the attic floor. "You guys didn't explain anything, but you got us out of the woods pretty fast."

"I don't know what she saw, but we got you guys out of there because of what Bramble saw." I told them as said wolf trotted up the stairs and sat down next to me. "He found a dead Shadow Pack member."

"The Shadow Pack?" questioned Dipper. "Aren't they like, I donno, the most feared pack out there?"

"I'm not sure what made this wolf come so far from its territory. But I do know one thing." Aquarius raised her solemn, unnatural amber eyes. "The Shadow Pack is on the prowl."

**A/N: Dun dun duuuunnnnn! Yay! Horray! I'm sorry, there's something wrong with me. If you reveiw, tell me what kind of Summerween candy you want! I'll give you the requested candy next chapter!**

**Oh, and Kodiak was an OC from SunRunner, but I don't need anymore OC's like that, k? **


	9. Sparklers Make Me Feel Dangerous

**Hahaha! I'm copying this from my laptop document, and I just saw my hystarical desktop background. It's Dipper as a werecat! Oh, I do enjoy the sight of Dipper with cat ears and a tail. Uh, yah. Changed the title because it was too long and some of my friends found the old one SO hilarious. So, yah, here's the chapter. Oh, almost forgot! *Passes out Summerween candy***

Chapter 8:

Sparklers Make Me Feel Dangerous

Leaves crunched beneath my new gray and aqua green sneakers as a flock of sparrows flitted by, chirruping their morning song. Today I was going to spend some time to myself in the woods, with just an iPod, a chocolate bar, and a particularly quiet rooster. I was carrying said bird in my arms as if I was cradling a newborn baby, while all of my other stuff was jammed into my faded blue backpack.

I stopped walking at a log covered with moss and set the cock, **(Yah, yah, laugh all you want, but that's what the professional name for a rooster is.)** who went by the name Buttons Alexander, down on the soft, natural carpet of pine needles. He clucked in disapproval as he glanced around at the pine trees and needles. He was used to leafy trees and fresh grass, not this. But, being the rooster he was, he started to scratch the dead needles away to get at the bugs below.

I dug my iPod Touch out of my backpack, stuffed in my earbuds, and started playing "Ready or Not" by Bridget Mendler. I scooped Buttons up and placed him on my lap, one hand stroking his hackle feathers. **(Neck feathers.) **He looked up at me and made a noise halfway between a cluck and a growl. I knew what he wanted.

I started singing the song, and the little rooster went silent, clicking his beak happily once and a while to let me know that he was content.

About thirty minutes passed, and the whole time I sat there singing to the creature I referred to as my little brother. He kept slipping in and out of a light sleep, but always kept listening to make sure that I wouldn't stop singing.

It took me about three minutes to realize that Dipper had walked out of the forest and was off to the side, listening just as intently as Buttons.

"AAAHHHH!" I screamed and jumped when I caught sight of the boy out of the corner of my eye, causing poor Buttons to get jostled around. I quickly caught my breath and held Buttons tight to my chest to calm him down. "Why'd you go and sneak up on me like that?!"

"Sorry! I was just walking around and I heard someone singing, so I followed the sound here." He replied rather quickly.

I looked into his chocolate brown eyes. He wasn't lying.

"It's alright, Buttons." I said, looking into the bird's dark mocha eyes. "He didn't mean to scare sissy like that."

"Sissy?"

I shot Dipper an angry glare. "I'm his big sister. You got a problem with that?"

"Ummm . . ."

"Choose your next words wisely, Pines."

"No, I don't have a problem with that." He stepped closer. "Is this the little rooster I've heard you brag about?"

A wide grin spread across my face. "Yep! This is Buttons Alexander!"

"He doesn't really look like a rooster . . ." Dipper started.

"What do you mean?" I asked, resting my head on the bird's strawberry comb. **(The thingy on his head.) **"He doesn't look anything like a hen or pullet."

Dipper leaned closer to the little bird. "No offence to you, but he does look like a hen . . ."

Before Dipper could finish his sentence, Buttons reached forward and bit down on his nose. The brunette boy yelped and fell back as the rooster sent a warning growl his way.

I practically fell over laughing.

Dipper stubbled to his feet. "Is it really that bad to look like a girl?" He questioned, his voice muffled by the fact that he was holding his now even redder nose. "People think I'm a girl all the time!"

I couldn't stop laughing, and my face was getting red. "T-that means you and Buttons have something in common!" I choked between laughs.

Dipper looked the bird in the eye, trying to see if Buttons agreed to this. Buttons instead leapt from my arms and tried to claw Dipper's face with his new spurs. **(Very sharp claws that rooster's get a little before they turn one.) **Dipper whirled around and ran in circles around the log, trying to get away from the angry little cock.

Although this whole scene warmed my heart, I had to save Dipper from the little bantam of doom. I stuck out my hand and Buttons ran straight into it, and I slipped my other hand underneath him and held him under my chin.

"What does he have against me?!" Dipper cried, keeping his distance from Buttons.

"He has a thing against men and boys, other roosters, and anyone he doesn't know. Well, actually, he only likes one person, and that would be me. He also likes Charlie, Chase, and Vance."

"Who are they?"

"Charlie is my Bearded Blue Silkie hen, Chase is my Golden Laced Seabright bantam hen, and Vance is my Silver Laced Seabright bantam hen."

"Wow. That's a mouthful." Dipper thought for a second. "Hey, aren't Chase and Vance boy names?"

"Yes."

"But, they're hens, right?"

"Yah. I thought they were male."

He gave me a weird look.

"Oh, give me a break, I didn't know!"

Dipper looked a little scared about my sudden shouty-ness.

I smiled. "Guess I better take this little gremlin home." I tousled the rooster's hackle feathers, yanked out my earbuds, stuffed my iPod Touch back into my bag, and hoisted my backpack onto my shoulder. "You've never been to my place, have you?"

"No."

"Why don't you and Mabel met me at my cabin at seven? It can be a sleepover. I'll invite Cap and Aquarius."

"Sure. Sounds like a plan."

He reached forward to shake on it, but quickly recoiled at another one of Buttons' warning growls.

"Oh, he's no trouble, you big guy." I told the rather small rooster, petting him on the head.

"Alright, I'll see you at seven." Dipper said, looking nervously at my pet-slash-little-bro.

"Bye, Dip!" I chimed before taking off down the trail.

"Wow, this is your room?"

I had led my four friends into my epic attic bedroom, and they were all impressed.

"My room is so small compared to this!" Stated Aquarius. "And my brothers don't let me get any sleep, no matter how small the room!"

"And you think the coyotes invading the rabbit warrens around here are quiet?"

"Good point."

"Let's go outside before it gets dark." Suggested Mabel. For about FIVE SECONDS I thought that she wasn't going to say something funny, but I was proved wrong. "Little Dippy gets afraid of the forest at night!"

"I do not!" He retaliated.

"Then why'd you scream when I stepped on a twig?"

"You'd be scared to if you had been the one who got chased by an angry mother timber wolf!" **(Not the kind in MLP: FiM.) **

"You shouldn't bother a mother wolf when she's got pups." I told him.

"How the heck was I supposed to know about her pups?!"

"Okay, okay! Clam down, Little Dipper!"

His brown eyes bored into my gray/blue ones like shards of dulled and broken amber. "Don't. Ever. Call. Me. Little. Dipper."

"Geez, alright! Come on guys, let's go outside."

We all ran down the steps and into the yard. I noticed my dad picking up a bunch of sticks and twigs, which gave me an idea.

"Daddy!" I ran up to him. "Can we have a fire?"

"Sure. Do we have any sparklers left?"

I grinned. Sparklers make me feel dangerous. **(They really do. XD)**

"I remember packing some away in one of the hall closets. I'll get 'um." I grabbed Dipper's hand. "You're coming with me."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so. Also, look at Mabel."

Dipper glanced over at his sister. She was running towards us with Buttons in her arms.

"Okay, yah, I'll come with you."

We walked inside and stopped in one of the downstairs hallways.

"You look for some in that closet." I said, pointing to a small oak door in the pine wood wall. "I'll look in here." I started digging through the closet on the other side of the hallway, and immediately wished that I had picked the other door.

Sticking out of a box were pictures of me and my friends from Pennsylvania. Anthony and Eve making funny faces, Lauren and I eating huge ice creams, Breanna and I wearing our fake mermaid tails, Aubrey chasing me with a slug, and even Gillian attempting to touch her tongue to her nose.

Tears began streaming down my face as memories flooded back to me. These were friends I would probably never see again. I mean, I had known that when I had said goodbye, but it still hurt to think of them.

"I found the sparklers!" Dipper said, pulling a few boxes out of the closet. "How many should we bring out?"

I didn't answer. I knew that, if I spoke, I would burst into tears, and he would see me in a weak moment. No one can see me being weak.

"Vanessa? Are you okay?"

I shook my head yes, but a whimper escaped my throat, revealing that I was not okay.

_Damn it, Vanessa! Why'd you go and do that?_

He crouched down next to me and looked at the pictures. "Oh, these are your old friends, huh?"

I sniffed. "Yah."

"Who are they?" Dipper asked, pointing at the picture of Anthony and Eve.

A weak smile spread across my lips. "That's Anthony and her little sister Eve. They're two of my friends from Camp Omeca."

"Omeca? What does that mean?"

"I have no idea, and I went there for three years!" I giggled, less tears streaming down my face.

"Who's this?" He asked pointing at the picture of me and Breanna. "I'm guessing you both like mermaids."

"That's another one of my old friends, Breanna Laker."

I flipped through the rest of the photos, telling Dipper who each kid was, but when I reached a certain picture, I practically burst into tears.

A huge group of my friends were standing in front of the school, all dressed for the dance. Lauren, Virginia, Breanna, Debra, Veronica, and Emalee were all gathered around me, huge smiles on their faces.

A loud sob escaped my throat, and I felt Dipper awkwardly put his arm around me.

"You miss them, huh?"

"Mmm hmm. Even the annoying ones." I said, pointing at two of the kids. **(I'm not gonna say who because these are my actual friends and I don't want to hurt their feelings. I'll tell them in person.) **

"It's alright. You can still talk to your old friends over video chat, and you have Aquarius, Capricorn, Mabel, and me for new friends."

"I guess you're right. Thanks, Dip." I wrapped my arms around him, then quickly realized how awkward that was and quickly broke away.

"Let's take these outside." Said Dipper, picking up the sparklers.

We all ran around, chased each other with sparklers, almost set our hair on fire in the process, played monkey in the middle (Dipper being the angry monkey trying to get his hat back), ate s'mores, and then went inside to watch a movie and play video games.

The guys were in the guest room playing my Wii, while the girls and I were in the living room, watching (much to my dismay) Twilight. When the movie got way too romance-y, I went into the guest room to play arena battles in Skylanders with the guys. I whooped both their butts with my level ten Sonic Boom, even when Dipper was using Spyro and Capricorn was using Trigger Happy. **(Yes, I like, no, I LOVE Skylanders. Deal wif eet.) **

Eventually we all fell asleep in the most random places. Capricorn on a beanbag, Mabel face-down on the shag carpet, Aquarius in an armchair, and Dipper under a blanket by the T.V., COVERED with pen marks. (My way of saying, "You lose, sucka!") Right before I drifted off to sleep on the couch, a thought hit me. I had just spent over an hour outside, in the dark, being loud, with four other kids, and nothing particularly weird had happened.

_Maybe there's nothing to worry about. That dead wolf could have been a false alarm._

Boy was wrong.

**Ohhhhhhh! Mwahahahaha! Cliffhanger! Yay. Oh, yah. I wanted to ask you guys something. **

**So, the other day I was in Delaware, at a grocery store. I, as usual, was wearing my Dipper Pines hat. A kid around the age 15-17 walked up to me, pointed at my hat, and said, "Your hat is awesome. I have the same one at home." Was this any of you guys? PM me if it was.**

**That's right, I'm allowed to PM now! Yeah uh! **

**If you reveiw, you can have a duckling. You can have a gosling if you look up the kind of chickens mentioned in this chapter, including Buttons, who is a Bearded Blue Silkie bantam cock. I'm sorry, I'm in 4-H . . . **

**Anyone who can guess which wolf my profile picture is gets a free bunny rabbit. **


	10. Fight

**A/N: Was up, Fallers?! Here's my next chapter! It's short! And violent. I also changed my profile picture. Again. And I'm gonna change it again because I'm weird like that. **

Yellow fangs slashed the air, mere centimeters from my exposed throat. I leapt back and lowered my head, the fur on my spine standing on end. The black wolf lunged at me, but a white flash shot out of the bushes and knocked it against a tree. Hard. The wolf did not get back up.

I flashed a grateful glance at the white flash, which happened to be Capricorn coming to my aid. A copper dart shot past us and sunk its teeth into another wolf's neck. Aquarius. Good. I needed all the help I could get.

It shocked me that only a few minutes ago I was wrestling with Bramble for the twins' enjoyment, and that all of a sudden the shadows around us had exploded into black, mange-infected, red-eyed, hunger-driven, Shadow Pack members. Bramble had disappeared into the forest as soon as the pack had arrived, and I hadn't heard him since. Then again, all I could hear was the horrible snarling and yelps of fighting wolves.

Aquarius and Capricorn were attempting to keep the black wolves away from Dipper and Mabel, but something about the advancing pack wasn't right. They were shockingly strong, but looked on the verge of death. Almost like zombies of sorts. But, no matter how hideous, they were alive and powerful.

Another wolf lunged for my throat, but I ducked and sank my teeth into its soft underbelly. It yelped and crashed to the ground, blood dripping from its new wound. It made another mad spring towards me, only to have a small tawny wolf clamp down on his neck.

Bramble had come to help. And he had brought back up.

A small group of wolves from the Eastern Pack had come, ready to fight for their territory. Bramble was fighting alongside his fellow trainees, wolves being taught the wolf way of life. Being a trainee himself, he wasn't very strong, but with the help of two more, he could take down five full-grown wolves.

There had to be only about ten wolves in Bramble's back-up team, but they were strong and healthy hunters, wolves that are fully trained and mature.

Blood pounded in my ears as I leapt into battle again, side by side with my pack mates. I barreled into a large wolf, battering him with my forepaws. As my adrenaline increased, so did the power of my blows. Once the wolf was hurting pretty good, I reared up and slammed him to the ground. Just as I was about to deliver a killing bite, a yelp stopped me in my tracks.

I whirled around to see a huge black wolf with dead, glowing red eyes standing over the body of a golden she-wolf.

Quickfoot. One of my friends. She wasn't getting up. He had killed her.

Rage flared inside of me. This wolf, Carnassial, was acting as if he was happy to see her die. To see the light fade from her amber eyes. But that wasn't the only reason that I was angry. Quickfoot was a loyal hunter, a good friend, a mate to Lash, and a mother to a tiny pup named Silver. I was not going to let Carnassial kill her and get away with it. I was not going to let him live.

I thundered straight into the huge wolf, knocking him off balance. I then sank my teeth into his left forepaw, causing him to stumble a bit. He twisted his head around and clamped his jaws on my scruff and tossed me aside as if I were a ragdoll. I landed on my paws and whirled around to try and grab his throat, but he dodged and raked his claws down my spine.

Pain shot through my entire body, pain like none I had ever felt before. But I couldn't just give up. Despite the pain coursing through me, I whipped around and sank my teeth into Carnassial's neck, pinning him to the ground. He struggled violently, and it was becoming harder and harder to hold him down. There was only one thing I could think of doing.

I clamped down harder and pulled. His mange-infected skin broke beneath my jaws and blood poured out. I quickly let go of his neck, not wanting any of the foul stuff in my mouth. I stared in horror at what I had done.

Carnassial was practically in a pool of blood. His windpipe, which had broken under my grasp, was hanging out of his torn throat.

_He deserved it. _I spat.

That's when the adrenaline stopped. The pain was getting to me. I laid down as dizziness started to overcome me. I hadn't realized how badly I had been bitten. Blood now poured from the wound like a tiny red river. The world around me shifted, and the last thing I remember seeing clearly was a huge grizzly smashing through the trees to my friends' aid.

**Cliffie!**


	11. Power

**So, yah, this is another chapter of my weird story. It gets weirder. **

I slowly opened my mismatched eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the light. The light. It was different. It was golden.

I stumbled to my paws, wincing at the pain from an awful gash on my leg and the scratches on my spine. Glancing around, I noticed a few things.

One, the whole forest was lit with a steady golden glow, radiating through the leaves and turning them greener. Two, there was the airy and tempting scent of honeydew and wine berries clinging to the still air. But, most of all, was the sound. What about the sound? Well, there was none. No birds, no whistling wind, not even the comforting howl of a wolf. The forest was silent. Dead silent.

That's when it hit me.

_Am I dead? _I wondered aloud, my voice slicing the silence like a knife through butter.

_In a way. _A soft voice said in wolf-talk.

I jumped and whirled around.

There, by one of the redwoods, was a huge golden she-wolf. Her muscles rippled beneath her unnatural colored pelt, and her eyes blazed like green fire. But one thing about her made me step back, made me wary.

She had wings.

Huge, golden feathered wings, the same shade as her pelt, if not a little darker, protruded from her shoulder blades. All in all, they gave her an almighty and godly look.

_Don't be scared, young one. _She said, her voice soft, like Fluttershy's.

_Where am I? _I questioned nervously and quickly. _Where are my friends? Are they okay? _

_They're back in Gravity Falls, and they're fine. Have a look. _She used on huge wing to gesture towards a puddle a few yards away.

I glanced at her unsurely, then trotted over to it, limping a bit. I dipped my head and gazed into the puddle. I was shocked. Looking through this puddle could allow me to see where my friends were.

The clearing the battle had taken place in was splattered with blood, and a few dead wolves, Shadow and Eastern alike, were scattered about. The battle was over. The Shadow Pack had been defeated. For now. I looked at my friends. Dipper was hugging a crying Mabel, who Capricorn was trying to comfort, Aquarius was checking up on the injured wolves, and a teenage boy with light brown hair was walking around, studying the forest closely with his dark blue-green eyes. They all were shaken, but didn't seem injured. I sighed in relief. They were safe.

That's when it hit me. _Am I safe?_

_Of course you are. _The golden wolf trotted over to me.

_Then why am I not with my friends?_

_You fought strongly and nobly, but you did pass._

_What?!_

_You died. _She stopped me from talking by holding out her wing. _But you'll go back. _

_What do you mean? Who are you?_

She smiled. _I am Lupine. The female wolf spirit._

I thought for a second. _If you're the female wolf spirit, does that mean you're the great star wolf who leads fallen pack-members to their resting place in the stars? _**(Hey, she knows her wolf culture.)**

_No, but this is the place a wolf comes when he or she dies. _

_So, it's like a halfway mark to heaven? _

_You could look at it that way._

_Soooooo, what do you mean I'll go back? _I asked, getting back to my earlier question.

_Well, how would your friends explain your sudden disappearance?_

_Fair point. But, what's going to happen to me?_

_You're going to be rewarded for your bravery._

_Bravery? _

_You risked your life to save the two kids that you've only known since the beginning of summer. You have different mixed emotions for both, but when it comes down to the bone, you care about them like family._

I didn't know how to respond.

_Alright. You must be getting your reward and heading home._

She leaned forward and touched her nose to my forehead, and immediately a neon green light began to slowly spin around me. Lupine stepped back and watched as I began to rise. The neon green color spun around me faster and faster, blocking my vision. The light whirled past my ears, ruffling my fur, and causing the painful cuts to heal rapidly.

There was a bright flash, which blinded me for a few seconds, and the next thing I knew I was back in the clearing, on the opposite side of my friends.

_Dipper! Mabel! Aquarius! Capricorn! _I howled each of my friends' names as I tore across the clearing, but something about my stride was different. I felt like I was being weighed down by something. But now wasn't the time to worry about that.

Hearing my bark, Aquarius looked up.

"Vanessa!"

Everyone's gaze shot up at the sound of my name. Each one of their jaws dropped.

_What? _

"Sweet wings." Capricorn said casually.

_What?! _I strained my neck around so I could partially see my shoulder blades.

Sure enough, two, big, gray feathered wings protruded from them, much resembling Lupine's. They weren't the magnificent hawk-like wings on angels, but smaller, more like kestrel wings.

I blinked, wondering how I hadn't noticed them.

"Where'd you get 'um?" Asked Aquarius.

I switched into human form. "Long story."

"VANESSA!" Mabel's gleeful cry ended with my yelp as she tackled me completely. "We were so worried!"

"We? Little Dipper was worried for once? What a surprise!"

Dipper frowned.

I pouted. "What? No, 'OHMIGOSHITHOUGHTYOUWEREDEAD!', or 'WHATTHESMILEDIPHAPPENEDTOYOU?'?"

He couldn't help but smile at that.

"I don't think we've met yet." The teenager with the light brown hair walked over to me. "I'm Kodiak Fenton Aaron, but you can call me Kodi."

"Sup?"

Kodi laughed. "That's the same thing Dipper here said to me. You guys related?"

"No. Not at all actually."

"Uh, Vanessa?" Aquarius's questioning voice had a hint of laughter in it. "Don't you have to clean your chicken coop today?"

"Aw Smile Dip! I totally forgot!" I took off towards my house, then yelled over my shoulder, "See 'ya tomorrow!"

**I told you it was weird. **


	12. AN

**Hey guys, so I have like, 2-3 more chapters to do, and I have 91 reveiws. That is awesomesauce, because I honestly didn't expect so many people to like this story. **

**I just have a few random things to say. **

**One- I am still excepting wolves, I'll need them in the future. Make them from the other packs too, I'll even except some from the Shadow Pack. **

**Two- Do you think I should write a MLP:FiM fanfic based off of the YouTube video, "Children of the Night" by Duo Cartoonist?**

**Three- If I get just 9 more reveiws, I'll be at 100. If I reach there, Vanessa will sing a song for all of you Fallers. **

**Four- SUNSHINE, SUNSHINE, LADYBUGS AWAKE! CLAP YOUR HOOVES AND DO A LITTLE SHAKE! **

**Hope to update soon! **

**-Snivy **


	13. I Choose You!

**Hey guys! It's been a really long time! Sorry for the big delay, I was lazy, the I had the 4H fair to deal with, then I was lazy some more. But I finally took a break from being lazy and shot down my writers block with a grappling hook I may or may not have stolen from Mabel.**

"Come on, Vanessa! Flap harder!" Dipper yelled as I passed a branch, beating my new wings as hard as I could.

_WHAT THE FLUFF DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?! _

Dipper smiled, knowing that he had ticked me off.

An evil grin spread across my face. Maybe I didn't know how to fly well, but I knew how to free-fall safely. I folded my wings and plummeted towards the boy, the smirk on his face fading away. I spread my wings and tilted them slightly, landing next to him. Maybe I landed a little too hard. I tumbled head over heels, one of my wings clipping Dipper's arm. Somehow I ended up upside down against a redwood; my wings spread out at random angles and my tail drooping in my face. I guess I didn't know how to free fall safely.

Apparently I looked funny, because Dipper started laughing hysterically.

I flipped myself upright, steadied myself, and then charged at him. Dipper whirled around and ran as fast as he could to the shack, but he had a funny grin on his face. He knew that I'd never actually hurt him on purpose.

I darted past him, cutting off the trail. He turned and started to run through the wood, not following any specific path. I smirked. Little to his knowledge, he was heading straight for a dead end.

Soon he reached said dead end, a smooth cliff side that stretched about eight feet up and was bent in a u-shape. He practically ran into the stone, but didn't and instead whirled around again.

I switched into human form and smirked. "You really need to learn more of these woods."

"Well, normally when I'm in them I'm being chased by some random creature. Or you."

"Good point." My phone buzzed in my pocket. I yanked it out. "Huh. Text from Mabel." I looked closer at the screen. "OMG! Cap asked me out! XOXO TTYL! :) :) :)!" I read aloud, and then glanced at Dipper. "I swear if she put one more smiley face after this I'd have to puke."

"He asked her out?"

I waved my phone around. "Text don't lie."

"Now I'm gonna have to deal with her crying over him when we go back to Piedmont."

I didn't reply right away. Secretly, I had been dreading the day when the twins would have to leave.

"When are you guys leaving?" I asked. _God, please don't be soon . . ._

"In, like, I donno, two weeks?"

"What?! That soon?"

Dipper frowned. "You really don't want us to leave, huh?"

"Yah. You guys are my best friends." I smiled. "I can just hear my friend Lauren back in PA screaming that _she's_ my best friend."

He smiled. "I'm sure you'll make new friends."

"Yah, everyone wants to be friends with the girl who kisses her pet rooster and knows the lyrics to over half of the Pokémon theme songs!" I said sarcastically.

Dipper grinned. "Sing one."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't sing."

"Yah you do, I heard you."

"I sing to myself or to my chickens. No one else."

Dipper made a face. "Not even me?"

"UGH!" I yelled in frustration. "You're killing me, Pines! You're killing me!" **(Can you guess what movie this is from? Part of "The Deep End" was a parody of it! Best. Movie. Ever.)**

"Come on, who's gonna hear?"

"You! I fluffing can't sing, okay! I know the lyrics, but, I just can't sing." I complained.

Dipper thought for a second. "How about this. If you sing a song, I'll hug Buttons."

"Wow. My singing and hugging your arch enemy. I think you've gone insane."

"Please?"

"Hmmm . . ." I really didn't want to sing, but the thought of Dipper trying to hug Buttons was pretty funny. "Deal. But I'll sing it on the way back to the shack."

Dipper smiled. He knew that I'd give in.

I turned and started to walk back to the path we had left, trying to think of what song to sing.

"Does it have to be Pokémon?" I asked over my shoulder.

"I don't care."

I thought some more, and then started to sing.

"_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house, that don't bother me. I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'um out. I'm not afraid to cry every once and a while, even though going on with you gone still upsets me! There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay, but that's not what gets me!" _

I could have sworn I heard Dipper suck in a breath of amazement. _He _likes_ my singing?_

_"What hurts the most, was being so close! Having so much to say, and watching you walk away! Never knowing, what could have been! Not seeing that loving you, is what I was trying to do!" _I closed my eyes and took a breath of the fresh pine-scented air.

"_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go, but I'm doing it. It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone, it's still harder getting up, getting dressed, living with this regret, but I know, if I could do it over, I would break, give away, all the words, that I saved, in my heart, that I left unspoken!"_

A lark called from a nearby thicket, almost acting as a background singer.

_"What hurts the most, was being so close! Having so much to say, and watching you walk away! Never knowing, what could have been! Not seeing that loving you, is what I was trying to do!"_

_"I'm not afraid to cry, every once and a while, even though going on with you gone still upsets me! There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay, but that's not what gets me! What hurts the most, was being so close! Having so much to say, and watching you walk away! Never knowing, what could have been! Not seeing that loving you, is what I was trying! What hurts the most, was being so close! Having so much to say, and watching you walk away! Never knowing, what could have been! Not seeing that loving you, is what I was trying to do." _

There were a few moments of silence before Dipper finally said something.

"Wow."

"I know, crappy right?"

"What do you mean, crappy? That was awesome!"

"Says the guy who thinks "Princess Twilight Sparkle" is best pony. Everyone knows it's a tie between Rainbow Dash, Princess Luna, and Princess Mia Mora Cadenza."

"Mia Mora Cadenz-what?"

"Cadence."

"Oh . . . I don't know who that is."

"Twilight's foalsitter, princess of the Crystal Empire, and Twilight's sister-in-law because she married Shining Armor."

"Okay, I think you watch too much My Little Pony." Dipper said, stepping over a rock.

"Actually, I watch it like one to four times a week. I mostly watch Moonshiners, Sam and Cat, Camp Lakebottom, and the old episodes of Pokémon."

Dipper gave me a blank look, and then tripped over a rock because he wasn't looking.

I burst into laughter as he scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt off himself.

"I think you just lost the tiny scrap of dignity you had." I giggled.

Dipper glared at me. "I have dignity!"

"Not much . . ." I muttered in a sing-song voice.

Dipper folded his arms and frowned.

A thought crossed my mind. "You've gotta come to my house now."

"Why?"

"So you can hug Buttons."

Dipper's face went pale. "Can I, in any way, bale out?"

"No, we had a deal! I sang, so you have to hug!"

"Can't I hug, I donno, a rabid mongoose?"

My eyes switched to their unnatural hues. "Hug. Buttons. Now."

"Fine." Dipper sighed.

We walked to my cabin-thingy that I had just started to except as home, and went around back to the chicken coop. Or, more like the chicken condo.

It looked like a large, very tricked-out shed with an outside attachment. It was tall enough to stand in, and was about ten foot by eight foot. There was a divider going straight down the middle, into the bridge-like pathway leading to the outside pen, which was also divided. The whole of it was painted a nice baby blue, with white outlining the sides and door. The outside section was made from an old dog kennel, and filled with mulch and sand. All in all, it was a nice coop, big enough for quite a few birds. But for now, it only held six.

Hazel Basil and Bekka Heart, two Plymouth Barred Rock hens, were dust bathing in the sun, kicking the mulch so it landed between their feathers, while Vance Worley and Chase Utley roosted on their side of the pen. Charlie Emu was being her usual broody self and sitting stubbornly on an unfertilized egg. Buttons Alexander was walking up and down the barrier between him and the Sebrights, trying to figure out how to get to his girls.

"Why are they separated?" Dipper asked, looking at the pen.

"Buttons was . . . giving the girls a hard time, if you know what I mean, so we put him in with our standard sized birds, Hazel and Bekka."

"Huh. Why don't you just . . . get him fixed?"

"I would, but only if I wanted him to wither and die within a year."

"Oh. Wow. Graphic."

I rolled my eyes, unlatched the outside pen, and stepped in, closing the door behind me. Buttons immediately ran up and attacked me, spurring my legs. Luckily, I was wearing high rubber boots, and Buttons was short. I reached down and scooped him up, and he latched onto my shirt with his beak.

"Do we have to go through this every day, Butt-butt? No biting." I gently pushed his face away from my shirt, and he snuggled down in the crook of my arm.

I walked out of the pen; taking care in making sure the Barred Rocks didn't get out, and then walked to Dipper.

"Hold him like I am. It pretty much renders him useless." I instructed, holding Buttons out.

Dipper awkwardly took the rooster from me, letting him rest his head in the crook of his arm. He supported him with left hand, and petted him with his right.

"Now hold him to your chest and hug him." I told him.

He looked nervously at me, then slowly moved the bird into the given position, closed his eyes, and rested his head on the bird's back. Buttons clicked his beak, and Dipper quickly held him out like he had bitten him.

I laughed. "That means he's happy!"

Dipper once again looked at Buttons, smiled and handed him to me. "He's not as bad as he seems."

"See. I knew you'd be friends." I smiled, setting Buttons back in the pen.

Dipper smiled at Buttons through the chicken wire wrapped pen, but a dark shadow caught his attention. He practically fell over as he pointed at the shadow with a shaking hand.

I squinted at it, then smiled. "Don't worry, Dip. That's Lash." I switched into wolf form, my wings held at my sides.

_Vanessa! I've been looking for you! _The black wolf trotted up to her, worry sparking in his green eyes.

_What's wrong? _

_It's about Silver. _

I felt a pang of sorrow. Quickfoot, Silver's mother, had been the one who I avenged.

_She's too young to eat solid food, there's no way I can nurse her, and the pack is calling her a malcadh._

The poor wolf. Trying to save his daughter, who was being referred to as cursed.

_What can I do to help?_

_I-I was hoping that you would take her in. _

_I can try . . . but, you know, with being human and all . . ._

_I understand. _Lash's long tail drooped so it scraped the dirt below our paws.

_Bring her to me. I'll help in every way possible. _

He nodded and then disappeared into the forest, his tail like a black pennant in the breeze.

I switched into normal form and walked to stand next to Dipper.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"Remember that golden she-wolf that was killed by Carnassial? That was her mate. Her daughter is dying of starvation."

"What? Why don't the other wolves help her?"

"She's really small. Too small. A malcadh. A cursed pup."

"What does he need you to do?"

"Take her in and raise her." I hung my head. "I don't think I can."

Just then Lash returned, a small sliver bundle dangling from his jaws. My face fell as he placed Silver by my feet. She was so small compared to other pups her age, which was only about two weeks. I scooped her up, carefully supporting her tiny head in the palm of my hand. She wriggled a bit, but didn't fight back.

I looked at Lash and smiled. He took that as an okay and disappeared into the wood once again.

"Guess I'd better feed her something. Let's go back to the shack. My parents would definitely not approve of me bringing a wolf in the house." I said, starting to walk towards the path leading to the Shack.

"Grunkle Stan won't care. As long as she doesn't eat or chew his money."

"What does she have against me?" I complained.

Dipper, Mabel, and I were sitting in the Mystery Shack living room, Silver cradled in my arms. I was attempting to get the pup to suckle from a bottle of warm milk, but she was being completely stubborn.

"Maybe you're holding the bottle the wrong way."

"How am I supposed to hold it? Backwards?"

"Can I try?" Mabel asked.

"You can TRY." I said, handing The pup and the bottle to her.

Silver still wouldn't suckle.

"Maybe Dipper should try." Mabel suggested as the she-pup twisted her head away from the bottle.

"Yah, sure, Silver's totally gonna think he's just as good as her dead mother." I said.

Mabel frowned at me, then handed Silver and the bottle to her brother.

The little wolf blinked at Dipper with wide blue eyes, then latched onto the bottle.

My jaw dropped. "Three moons, Dip! She thinks you're her mama!"

Dipper didn't really know how to feel about this. Honored? Awkward? Happy? All he really knew is that this pup had chosen him over his gentle sister and a wolf-girl with a golden heart. And that she had entrusted him with her life.

**I'll give you a hint about the movie: Wendy the lifeguard! **


End file.
